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Reg. 'Till noon! 'till night, my lord, and all night too. Kent. Why, Madam, if I were your father's dog,

You could not use me fo.

Reg. Sir, being his knave, I will. [Stocks brought out. Corn. This is a fellow of the self-fame nature Our fister speaks of. Come, bring away the Stocks. Glo. Let me beseech your Grace not to do so; His fault is much, and the good King his master Will check him for't; your purpos'd low correction Is such, as basest and the meanest wretches For pilf'rings, and most common trespasses, Are punish'd with. The King must take it ill, That he, fo flightly valued in his messenger, Should have him thus restrain'd.

Corn. I'll answer that.

Reg. My Sifter may receive it much more worse,
To have her Gentleman abus'd, assaulted,
For following her affairs. Put in his legs |

[Kent is put in the Stocks.
Come, my lord, away. [Exeunt Regan and Cornwall.
Glo. I'm forry for thee, friend; 'tis the Duke's pleasure,
Whose disposition, all the world well knows,
Will not be rubb'd nor stop'd. I'll intreat for thee.

Kent. Pray, do not, Sir. I've watch'd and travell'd Some time I shall fleep out, the rest I'll whistle: [hard; A good man's fortune may grow out at heels; Give you good morrow.

Glo. The Duke's to blame in this, 'twill be ill taken. [Exit.

Kent. Good King, that must approve the common Saw, Thou out of heaven's benediction com'st To the warm fun!

Approach, thou beacon to this under-globe,

[Looking up to the moon,

That by thy comfortable beams I may
Peruse this letter. Nothing almost sees miracles,
But misery. I know, 'tis from Cordelia;
Who hath most fortunately been inform'd
Of my obfcured course. I shall find time
From this enormous state, and feek to give

Loffes

Loffes their remedies. All weary and o'er-watch'd, Take vantage, heavy eyes, not to behold

This shameful lodging.

Fortune, good night; smile once more, turn thy wheel.

[Не Леерѕ.

SCENE changes to a part of a Heath.

Edg. I'

Enter Edgar.

"VE heard myself proclaim'd; And, by the happy hollow of a tree, Escap'd the hunt. No port is free, no place, That Guard and most unusual vigilance Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may 'scape, I will preserve myself: and am bethought To take the basest and the poorest shape, That ever penury in contempt of man Brought near to beaft: my face I'll grime with filth; Blanket my loins; elfe all my hair in knots; (17) And with presented nakedness out-face The winds, and perfecutions of the sky. The country gives me proof and president Of bedlam beggars, who, with roaring voices, Strike in their numb'd and mortify'd bare arms Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary; And with this horrible object, from low farms,

(17)

put all my hair in knots;) This is a modern reading: All the old copies intended to read, and the first folio actually does;

--elfe all my bair in knots.

i. e. twist it in the manner of elfe-locks: i. e. hairs so intricately interwove, as not to be disengag'd; and by superstition suppos'd to have been twisted by Elves, or Fairies. We find them mention'd in our author's Romeo and Juliet;

That plats the manes of horses in the night,

And cakes the elf-locks in foul fluttish hairs,

Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes. And in the induction to Ben. Forfon's Magnetick Lady.

:

--- But if you light on the wrong end, you will pull all inte a knot or elf-lock; which nothing but the sheers, or a candle, will undo or separate.

Poor

Poor pelting villages, sheep-coats and mills, Sometimes with lunatick bans, sometimes with pray'rs, Inforce their charity; poor Turlygood! poor Tom!

That's something yet: Edgar I nothing am.

[Exit.

SCENE changes, again, to the Earl of Glo'ster's Castle.

Lear.

T

Enter Lear, Fool, and Gentleman.

IS strange, that they should fo depart from
And not fend back my messenger. [home,

Gent. As I learn'd,

The night before, there was no purpose in them
Of this remove.

Kent. Hail to thee, noble master!

Lear. Ha! mak'st thou thy shame thy pastime?
Kent. No, my lord.

Fool. Ha, ha, he wears cruel garters; horfes are ty'd by the heads, dogs and bears by th' neck, monkeys by th' loins, and men by th' legs; when a man is overlufty at legs, then he wears wooden nether stocks.

Lear. What's he, that hath so much thy place mistook, To fet thee here?

Kent. It is both he and she,

Your fon and daughter.
Lear. No.

Kent. Yes.

Lear. No, I say.

Kent. I say, yea.

Lear. By Jupiter, I swear, no.

Kent. By Juno, I swear, ay.

Lear. They durst not do't.

They could not, would not de't; 'tis worse than murder,

To do upon refpect such violent outrage:

Resolve me with all modest hafte, which way

Thou might'st deserve, or they impose, this usage,

Coming from us ?

Kent. My lord, when at their home

I did commend your Highness' letters to them,

Ere

Ere 1 was risen from the place, that shew'd
My duty kneeling, came a reeking Poft,
Stew'd in his haste, half breathless, panting forth
From Gonerill his mistress, falutation;
Deliver'd letters spight of intermission,
Which presently they read: on whose contents
They summon'd up their meiny, strait took horse;
Commanded me to follow, and attend

The leisure of their answer; gave me cold looks;
And meeting here the other messenger,
Whose welcome, I perceiv'd, had poison'd mine;
(Being the very fellow, which of late
Display'd so saucily against your Highness,)
Having more man than wit about me, I drew ;
He rais'd the house with loud and coward cries :
Your fon and daughter found this trespass worth
The shame which here it fuffers.

Fool. Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way. Fathers, that wear rags,

Do make their children blind;

But fathers, that bear bags,

Shall see their children kind, Fortune, that arrant whore, Ne'er turns the key to th' poor. But, for all this, thou shalt have as many dolours from Thy dear daughters, as thou canst tell in a year.

Lear. Oh, how this mother swells up tow'rd my heart!

Hysterica paffio, down, thou climbing forrow,
Thy element's below; where is this daughter?
Kent. With the Earl, Sir, here within,
Lear. Follow me not; stay here,

Gen, Made you no more offence,

But what you fspeak of?

Kent. None;

[Exit.

How chance the King comes with so small a number ? Fool. An thou hadst been set i' th' stocks for that

question, thou'dst well deserved it?

Kent. Why, fool?

Fool. We'll set thee to school to an Ant, to teach thee there's no lab'ring i' th' winter. All, that follow

their noses, are led by their eyes, but blind men; and
there's not a nose among twenty, but can smell him
that's ftinking-let go thy hold, when a great wheel
runs down a hill, left it break thy neck with following
it; but the great one that goes upward, let him draw
thee after. When a wife man gives thee better counsel,
give me mine again; I would have none but knaves
follow it, fince a fool gives it.
That Sir, which serves for gain,

And follows but for form,
Will pack when it begins to rain,
And leave thee in the storm :
But I will tarry, the fool will stay,
And let the wife man fly :
The knave turns fool, that runs away;
The fool no knave, perdy.

Kent. Where learn'd you this, fool?

Fool. Not i' th' Stocks, fool.

Enter Lear and Glo'ster.

Lear. Deny to speak with me? they're fick, they're

weary,

They have travell'd all the night? mere fetches,

The images of revolt and flying off.

Bring me a better answer

Glo. My dear lord,

You know the fiery quality of the Duke:
How unremoveable, and fixt he is

In his own course.

Lear. Vengeance! plague! death! confufion! Fiery? what fiery quality? why, Glo'ster, I'd speak with th' Duke of Cornwall, and his wife. Glo. Well, my good lord, I have inform'd them so. Lear. Inform'd them? dost thou understand me, man? Glo. Ay, my good lord. Lear. The King would speak with Cornwall, the dear Wou'd with his daughter speak; commands her service: Are they inform'd of this?-my breath and blood! Fiery? the fiery Duke? tell the hot Duke, thatNo, but not yet; may be, he is not well;

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Infirmity

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